Cableway



Nov. 6, 1928.

1,690,929 c. FISHER v CABLEWAY Filed Aug.11, 1926 2 sheets-sheet 2 o cwww?? l f graphs Patented Nov. 6v, 1928'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

CHARLES FISHER, 0F KUMARDHUBI, BRITISH INDIA.

l CABLEWAY.

Application iled'August 11, 1926'.

or manner of working which is involved] The hourly capacities ofcableways in spite ofhigli traversing. speeds and heavy individual loadsare comparatively low if called upon to deposit material over or raisematerial from a long length.` This is due mainly to the lfollowingreasons:

(l) The cableway is standing idle whilst the empty bucket is beingdetached from and the full bucket being attached to the carrier lorwhilst the bucket is being loaded from a hopper; v

(2) Time is wasted in traversing the empty bucket back to the loadingpoint; and

On a long cableway, say 2000 feet long, a very appreciable amount.of'time is occupied in traversing` the loaded bucket.

The object of this invention is to provide a continuous cableway adaptedto have a number of loaded buckets on one cable moving forward from theloading point to the unloadingpoint and all lempty. buckets returning onpreferably a separate or stationary cable. In the preferred embodiment,the buckets will pass round a closed circuit normally travelling in onedirection along any particular section of the circuit.

The objects are mainly y (a) To save all timewasted on existingcableways referred to in the preceding para'- To obtain a cablewaywithan hourly capacity far greater than has heretofore been accomplishedover al long spa-n;

(c) To save the wastage of' power absorbed' in raising empty` buckets;(el) To obtaina cableway which is capable of traversing hoisting andlowering loads .over a distance, say five ormoretimes greater than ispracticable with any type of cableway constructed heretofore; and

(e) To, in the preferredembodiment, convert the usualtypeofbi-cableropeway into a cabieway by making the hoisting or trave ropealso raise and lower loads vandv vrable the buckets and carriers toauto- Selial No 128,681,

matically leave both the rail or stationary cable at the end shunts andialso disengage from the traversing rope at the loading point and also atthe return terminal station ifde- The invention comprises' amethodormanner of working a cableway for transporting material from ,one ormore fixed loading points and depositing the saine 'anywhere along thecableways working length, which consists in'utilizing a standing rope orrail for the support of "the bucket carriages, a traversing rope adapted'to move said carriages, and a lowering and lifting' rope tov controlthe vertical elevation of the buckets, said lowering and lifting ropepassing through or engaging said carriages in such amanner that the saidbuckets or loads are or may be supported by a loop in the said rope intheir carriages, with provision whereby sufficient slack may be given'insaid lowering' and lifting .rope to allow of at leastone bucket or loadeing lowered in its loop in the saidrope to a desired distance' belowits carriage, suitable braking or controlling gear being provided sothat the lowering operation may be controlled and the excess .weight ofa desired loaded bucket may be utilized to lower it and at the sameytime toraise a. previously .low-` ered and emptied bucket back to itscarriage, the slack in the lowering and lifting rope being utilized forthis said purpose'.

In thisvmetliodv or manner of working according to the Vpreferredembodiment, a single rope is used for both traversing purposes and forloweringand lifting purposes, said rope being adapted to form alowering` loopfrom ,anyrdesired bucket carriage and to traverse,saidlowering fand lifting` rope the bucket may, under desiredconditions, be lowered from or raised to its carriage for workingptllpOSeS.

According to this invention, when the bucket or load is supporteddirectly from the carriage, and thus from the standing rope or rail, itmay be so arranged that it can be lifted, moved clear of, or completelydiseng' d from the traversing rope and/ or the lower-in and liftingrope.

The standing rope or rail used with the above described arrangements maybe made intov a closed circuit by shunt rails or the like at mainloading or reversing points so that the carriages and buckets may followeach other in sequence around the circuit.

j The invention includes in fact a method or manner of working acableway wherein when the working is started a procedure is adoptedsubstantially as hereinafter described and as will clearly be set out inconnection with the drawings for lowering and unloa-c ng the firstbucket, including` the paying out of slack in the lowering and liftingrope which is needed for the purpose.

It also' includes a method or manner of working wherein, when normalworking conditions are established, and the buckets are being loweredand unloaded in sequence, the emptied buckets are raised again using forthat purpose the potential energy possessed by full buckets which are tobe lowered and unloaded in their turn, the method ofinanipulation and/orsequence of operations being substantially as will hereinafter be fullydescribed.

In these methods or manners, when normal working conditions areestablished, the traversing and/or the lowering and lifting rope, or thesingle rope used for said purposes, are

or is operated continuously with or aroundv the cableway or desiredportion thereof, the carriages being` attached and-detached and thebuckets lowered, emptied and raisecL again and reconnected to their car1iages whilst said ropes or rope are or is continuously movingsubstantially as described.

The invention also includes the modification of the normal method ormanner wherein, instead of working continuously for depositing thecontents of buckets of concrete or other material which may be rapidlytipped, the working is intermittent in thatth-e traversing rope and thelowering and lifting rope is or are started and stopped to enablematerial to be deposited in more exact position substantially asdescribed hereina ier with respect to the depositingr of facing tones.

In any of these methods or manners of working, the weight of the bucketor load may be transferred to, or taken off, the bightin, or loop of,the lowering and lifting rope subst antially in the manner which will beexplained in detail hereafter. y Y V The invention also comprises acableway adapted to work on a closed circuit system,

for example of the general type of an ordi-.

nary bi-cable aerial ropeway, adapted to have buckets or the likefollowing one another in sequence around a substantially closed circuit,wherein the said buckets are supported in turn upon, or from, a rail orstationary cable (and the shunt rails connecting therewith at theloading or return terminal stations), and wherein the loaded buckets orthe like, preferably one at a time, may be lowered for unloading at anypoint along the working section by operating on the slack in a loweringand lifting rope or ropes provided for that lpurpose, in which loweringoperation the excess weights of the said loaded buckets or the like inlowering operateV to hoist empty buckets which have previously beenlowered and unloaded (orv whose loads have been detached), thearrangement being such that the empty hoisted buckets may neverthelessbe detached from the said lowering and Ylifting rope, and if desired,from the traversing rope also. if such is separately used, at thecable-way terminal reversing or loading stations, so that the bucketsmay follow the shunt rails thereat and be reattached to the sainlowering, lifting and/or traversing ropes after passing round the shunt,being reloaded terminal stations whilst on the shunt, thus permitting ofcontinuous running and operating of the bucket around the circuit.

It also includes such a. cableway but having therein a single movingrope both for traversat one or atboth Y ing and also for lowering andlifting the buckets or the like.

The lowering and lifting rope may be adapted to engage or be engaged bythe carriages or the like carrying the buckets or loads, and to form abight or loop in each said carriage, onto whichbight or loop the weightof the bucket or the load may be transferred, and in which loop thebucket or load may be lowered to a desired distance (determined by theamount of slack in the said rope) below the standing cable for unloadingpurposes, and in which loop the discharged bucket or the like may beraised again to approximately its original level reli atively to thestanding rope.

'lhe lowering and lifting rope as last described may be adapted also atthe same time y to act as the traversing rope.

The lowering and lifting rope will have means whereby sutlicient slackmay be given thereto to enable the buckets or the lik to be lowered,preferably in sequence, in loops formed by the said slack to a desire?llevel.

The said rope may also be adapted to transmit-the necessary powerrequired to raise the cablewaynempty buckets utilizing thepotentialfenergy released when lowering'loaded buckets on the cablewayand/or also be able in addition to transmit the necessary power totraverse its necessary number of carriages along the cableway. .Y Y

In'any case the cableway may be one having means Ywhereby the load orthe weight of y intermediary tlieibucket may be either carried directlyb each carriage be arranged to carry a bucket or loadsuspendedtherefrom, said carriages having two spaced pulleys each over which thecontinuous lowering and lifting rope is adapted to pass and betweenwhich the said rope is adapted to loop downV when the bucket or loadisbeing lowered or raisedin said loop,

and a bucket or load carryingpulley-wheel resting on the said ropemidway between said other pulleys, from which last pulley-wheel thebucket or load may be caused to directly hang when being lowered.

The said carriages will have rope clamping means associated with saidspaced pulleys, preferably on the outer sides thereof, whereby thelowering and lifting ropeinay be clamped as desired at one or at bothpoints to the carriage. v

Braking gear will also be'providedto control the rotation of one atleast of the pair of spaced pulley-wheels and, if desired, ropegrippinggear is also provided to yprevent the rope sliding in thepulley-wlieelgroove. Blocks and tackle, screw couplings or other equivalent liftinggear may be connected to the carriages proper, and means for working thesame, and further means be provided, such for example, as a hook or apin device, whereby the pulley from which the bucket or load issuspended may be engaged and lifted from, or lowered onto, thebight in,or loop of, the lowering and lifting rope, and whereby, when said pulleyis lowered ontosaid rope, the said pulley may be completely disengaged.The invention also comprises, as already mentioned, a cableway adaptedto be worked in the manner which will be more fully made clear hereafterin detail, comprising a rail or standing cable and the necessary shuntrails therefor-to form a closed circuit, a continuous traversing,lowering and hoisting rope or ropes'therefor with means for causing said.rope to move, and a tensioning device or devices adapted toenable saidrope or ropes to e paid. out or slackened sufficiently to enable atleast one bucket or loadl on each to Vbe lowered ina loop in said ropethe full distance required below the rail or standing cable.

In this cableway, a single rope maybe used for the traversing, loweringand lifting functions or, alternatively, a continuous traversing ropeand a separate continuous lowering and lifting rope with means forcausing each to move may be used, the latter having a tensioning deviceas last indicated.

For proper working, subsidiary tensioning yiiieansl may be provided forplacing and sustaining a suitable working tension in the lowering andlifting rope and/or in the traversing rope.'

Finally the invention includes a cableway as described in which a singleengine, prime mover or motor may be used adapted to cause the loweringand lifting rope to move and, when desired, to take up or pay out theslack in the said rope for the purposes described.

The invention will now be described with k,reference to the accompanyingdrawings which it is to grammatic.

In these drawings Figures l and 2 are a diagrammatic elevation and planrespectively of one end of the cableway showing the drivingandftension-V ing mechanism. In this a'sin'gle rope is used tortraversing and for bucket lowering and hoisting purposes. l Figures 3, 4and 5 show, also diagrammatically, three positions of av bucket carriagesuitable for the said cableway.

Figure 6 is a diagram illustra-ting `a phase in the normal working. n AFigure i' a diagram illustrating an alternative manner of working `wherethe cablebe understood are largely dial way is used for depositing-say,facingstones for a dam, and

Figure 8 illustrates, also diagraminatically, a cableway in whichseparate ropes are used for traversing and for lowering and hoistingbuckets.

rIhe cableway consists essentially of a. rail stationary or standing"cable l which is connected at the loading or returning stations to shuntrail 2, and is provided with a bucket lowering and hoisting rope 3,which in the preferred embodiment f of the cableway as shown in Figs. land 2, is made continuous and is caused to move and to be used not onlyfor lowering and hoisting buckets but also for traversing -the bucketsand the carriages or carriers around or along the cable. A separate ropemay, however, be used forl traversing, if so desired, as illustrated inFig. 8,

The carriages or carriers will first be described and the method ofworking the preferred embodiment.

These carriages or carriers are illustrated s in Figs. 8, t and 5 and itis proposed that each carriage shall be dispatched in normal conditionsonto the cableway in charge of an operator, although it may beA possibletol in-V troduce automatic control, for example by trip operated.clockwork or velectrical gear, without departing from-the scope of thein'- vention. i I

The carriages l run on wheels or 5 on the rail or standing rope l. i n

The normal direction of movement of the carriage is indicated by thearrow on igs. 3 to 5. Y Y .v p The lower part of the carriage (asshown)y a trolley lOO llU

' pended on the is provided with two clips G and 7 by means of which theoperator can clamp thetravers ing rope 3 to the carrier eitherseparately at the front clip 7 or at rear clip 6 or at both clips.

8 1s an ordinary pulley tor supporting hall the weight ot the bucket 9when carried on the traversing, lowering and hoisting rope 10 is asimilar rope pulley fitted with a brake drum such as a band brake whichma be operated by means of the hand-wheel 1i.

12 is any ordinary rope pulley which car ries the 'full weight of thebucket when sustlcmf'ering and lifting rope. Attached to the upperportion ot the carrier 1s a set of rope blocks 153 11k with tackle 15rove therein, which are worked by the operator throughi say, worm wheel1G and handle 17. The lower hooks 1d may be attac. ied to the buckethanger 18 by inserting pin 1).

The method 01' operating the cab-leway is i as follows Vhen the cablewayis working on the construction of a dam7 in which i'or example allmaterial is loaded on the cableway one end and at a higher level thanwhere the material has to be deposited the operations ,tor running thecabloway are as follows. rlhe description is 1n reference to a preferredterm of cableway in which a single rope is used for traversing lowering'and lifting.

,Loading the caleway at commencement of lVlien the carriages l andvtheir buckets 9 are oil the rail or stationary cable 1 and supported onthe loading` station shunt rail 2 the buckets are suspended from the car'ier blocks and tackle 13-15 as shown in Fig. il.

Buckets may be loaded from hoppers through shoots or in any manner inwhich 'mono-cable or bi-cable ropeway bucket can be loaded.

The sequence of operations may then be as follows?- Loaded buckets arerun from the loading statiOnshunt rail 2 on` to the rail cable 1 in asimilar manner to those of a bi-cable ropeway. v

The operator in the bucket carrier l then immediately locks thetraversing rope 3 to the carrier by means oft the iront clip 7 (blocksand tackle- 153-15 being reve in short). y

VThe operator then by means ot the worin winch 16-17 and rope bl ckslil-15 lowers the bucket h anger 18 until it reaches the posi tion shownin Fig. v5, the loaded bucket hanging with its full weight suspendedfrom or resting on theV bight of the rope 3 between `pulleys 6 and 7.

The rope 3 is then locked to the carrier` byVV means of clip 6. The ropeblocks 13--14v are then further slackened and pin 19 withdrawn.

The brake of wheel 10 is then securely apoperator unlocks clip G andlocks clip 7.

plied and kept on. y This brake application is not necessary in the caseoic the irst bucket to be dumped but on all following buckets. l

After the first loaded bucket has been despatched a gap is left equal tothe normal spacing of the buckets plus twice the depth to which .thebuckets have to be lowered.

When the lirst loaded bucket reaches the i weight of the loaded bucketsimultaneously takes up the slack as the traversing rope tension trolley2O supplies it until the bucket rea-che. the depth desired. yEhe bucketis then du imed and the cableway, that is movement of the traversingrope 3, is then started up again and may run continuously7 thereafter'tor the normal working period.

The sequence et operations which may be followed for lowering fullbuckets and raisempty buckets when the cableway is run ning normally isasv follows Referring to Figi. 6. As soon as the low ered bucket markedY has tipped, the operator in the next loaded bucket marked releases theclips 7. He then lowers his luicket by slackening the brake of wheel 10and in so doingalso raises bucket marked Y by taking up its loop in thetraversing rope 3, it being noted that the clip 6 on this empty bucket Yis unlocked., enabling the slack to be taken up. The dotted line a, Z),c7 o7, e, shows the approximate path of the bucket.

ln cases where the tension in the traversing rope is insuicient to givethe necessary triction in the groove of pulley wheel 10 so that thelowering of the loaded bucket can be properly controlled by the brake7extra precsure may be applied to the rope resting in the grooveot pulley11, for instance through a small pulley or pulleys 22 pressing on therope.

mmediately the full bucket is dumped, its Upon the empty bucket havingbeen raised as hioh as it will go by the lowering of the tull bucket,

.the clip 6 on vthe empty bucket carriage may be secured againtemporarily.

rlhe cycle ot the last two operations, that is, lowering a loaded bucketand hoisting the one which has previously been'unloaded, may then berepeated throughout the working shift.

To facilitate dumping, the buckets may be `litted with automatic tripgear worked by striking a handle 23 or in other convenient mannerenabling them to dump their contents locks clip 7.

at a desired point on the trigger or handle 23 of the tipping gear beingoperated.

After a bucket has been raised, the tension in the traversing rope atthat point on the line where it has the minimum tension leaves Vit witha sag as shown in Fig. 3.

The operator may temporarily secure clip 6. He then inserts pin 19 andraises thev empty bucket and hanger to a position shown in Fig. 4 bymeans of the blocks 13-15 and worm winch 16-17. Clip 6 is then unlocked.

When an empty bucket is entering the shunt rail of the return terminalstation the.

bucket runs on to the shunt rail and is ready;

to be reloaded. z

A convenient sequence of operations to follow when closing down thecableway is as 'follows Empty buckets are, sent out without operatorsbut clips 7 thereon are locked, the last bucket lowered and dumped israised by hauling back the tension trolley 20.

Operation meded when raising loads.

When occasional loads have to be raisedY at any point along thecableway, this can be f done by meansof kthe winch attached to or drumoperating the tension'trolley 20. `Vhen t-he trolley 20 is slacked back,the empty bucket takes up thesla'ck and falls and may be raised by againhauling inthe tension trolley.

The capacity of a cablewayis a most important consideraon.

The hourly capacity of the vcableway acl. cording to this'invention maybe very great. Y For example, when loaded at one end only and traversingthe material say SOOOft. or more and lowering 200 to 300 ft. andtraversing at the comparatively slow speed of 100' yds. per min. whencarrying l0 ton net loads the capacity would be approximately 600 tonsper hour. or, ystated in another way, the hourly capacity ol thecableway is equal to 60 times' the weight of the net individual loadscarried at a'spacing of just over 100 v yds. apart.

The hourly capacity of an ordinary cableway of known type as used today,even if one which is one quarter-kof the above length and using atraversing speed four times greaterl is considered, would onlybeapproximately ten timesthe weight of the individual netv loads carried.v

If the continuous cableway can be loaded with material at each end, thehourlyl capacity is then practically kdouble the figures given above or120 times the net weight of the individual loads carried. v y Aconvenient'form which the driving gearV may take is indicated in Figs; 1and 2. The' continuous cableway can be driven by either an electricmotor or by a steam',

oil` or gas engine, but preferably by motor. v

The figures diagrammatically show one method which may be adopted inwhich the motor 24 drives through a flexible coupling 25, worm reductiongear 26, and clutch 27 keyed to a horizontal countershaft which by meansof bevel gear 28 drives a vertical shaft on which is av pinionx29gearing into a spur ring bolted to the iieeting or surging v pulley 30round which the haulingor traversing rope 3 is wound. 31 represents abrake.

The diagram also-shows how the first loaded bucket ofeach shift islowered to the desired depth, the tension trolley 2O being slackenedback by paying outrope from drum 34 which may also be driven by themotor or prime mover 24 through the worm reduction gear 26l and clutch32. d

This haltl of the countershaft is also provided with a brake 33. Therope drum 34 operates on the rope 35 and thus on the sys-` tem ofpulleys 36-37 of the ropefalls 21. The set of blocks 3 6 is 'fixed ando'n the rope 35 being hauled in the tension'trollev 2O is kalso hauledin. The rope 3 is carried round the. pulley 3Q and, as indicated at 3a,passes round the trolley wheel' 2() and thence, as at 3b. around thepulley 38 and then around 160' suitableguide pulleys 39 to follow theline" of the standing cablel. f

The tension weight 40 gives the required initial tension in rope 3 fornormal continuous running when loads arie earriedfrom' the loadingstation and deposited at a lower level along the dam. Y

This is due to weight 40 being'- hungatl the further end of the rope 35so as to place a definite tension in the ropes of the fallV 2l, the ropefrom the fallspassing over pulley 4l forthis purpose.

The tension weight 42 (which is `ilexiblv I I attached to the undersideof tension weight LlOl addedto the top weight 40 is sufficient tobalance the pullon the hauling or traverslng rope when the first loadedbucket is being lowered or a Vload is being hoisted from anypoint alongthe cableway.

The rail or stationary cable tension gear would be similar lto that of abi-cable ropeway and would preferably'be arranged at the return terminalstation. W'hen the continuous cableway is being used for the construcltion vof a dam and transporting concrete or moderate size plums of savl2 to18 cube,

it can be run continuouslv like a bi-cable." i ropeway, theessentialdifference .being the provision of the lowering and lifting meansV whichconvert the ropeway into cahleway. Y

When the cabl'eway according to this inven- ,buckets of concrete andplums are being carried, it is therefore, not necessary to describethese operations again in detail. The following description ofoperations, whilst referring to Fig. .7, clearly explains the method ofprocedure in regardto depositing at point A.

facing stones or other material needing greater care in depositing orwhich need to be placed in more exact position. Assume facing blockshave to be placed at points A andC, the cableway is stopped when thefirst loaded carrier marked Y is directlyI over point A. Load Y is thenlowered the 'last few feet until the stone comes to rest on a lirmbearingl and the slings unhooked. Load X is then lowered at B and itsload placed. This operation takes up the traversing and lowering ropeloop at Y, thus raising the carrier bottom sheave and slings of Y.

The cableway is then-started up and run until carrier marked `W is notquite over point A, by whichtime carrier marked V will be nearly overpoint B, when the cableway is again stopped. During the period oftravers ing, load N is lowered and carrier X bottom sheave and slingraised.

In Fig. 7, g h shows the approximate path ofthe load l when beinglowered and 7c m the approximatepath of the empty slings X when beingraised. 4

The above cycle of operations is then repeated commencing with the finallowering of load marked WV alongside load marked Y The facing stonescould afterwards be picked up and laid in their correct positions byderrick crane.

When it is desired to raise loads at any point along the cableway by useof the hauling'or traversingrope, the following procedure may befollowed.

The cableway is stopped when an empty.

bucket is over the point froinwhich it is desired to hoist a load. Ropeis paid out from thedrum ofwinch 3lA (Fig. 2) ,which is taken upbytension weight ll() falling until itv rests on tension weight Ll?. Ropeis continued to be paid out from the winch drum 34 until the tension inthe traversing rope is less than tilt half the weight of the emptybucket and carriersheave which then takes up the slack and lowers awayfrom the "carriage and rail rope.

In Fig. 8 anarrangement of the plant Vis shown diagrammaticallyaccording to which separate ropes are used for traversing and forloweringand hoisting purposes.

According to this diagram, Awhich can of course be modified in manyways, the rail or standing rope l is yanchored at lar and has the usualshunt rail 2 at either end to form a substantially closed circuit. Bythis term it is meant thatl the said parts arev so arranged thatcarriages or carriers may be caused to move completely round the circuitof the standing rope and its shunt rails. lt does not, however, deny theuse of switches and sidings on the said shunt rails if the same areneeded so that, if preferred, certain carriers might be taken out of useor by means of which sidings loading operations might be facilitated.The lowering and hoisting rope is indicated on this diagram by 3C andthe separate traversing rope is 53. rllhe carriages or carriers have inthis case a separate clip for engaging the said traversing rope a3; Thistraversing rope t3 passes aroundV suitable guide rollers il?, 47a. ltistaken Around the driving wheel est and thence round the pulleys L6-#loand back to the standing rope track. 46 is 'a pulley mounted on atension trolley and the required tension in the rope d3 may be obtainedby operating this trolley in a known manner. The driving wheel le isdriven in any suitable manner.

Turning now to the lowering and hoisting rope 3 (Fig. 8), it will beseen that the said rope passes round the guide rollers i8 and 49 andthen round the surging wheel 50. It then passes round theguide rollers48a [t9-a, to again follow the 'line of the standing cable. rlhe surgingpulley 50 is attached to the tackle 5l (only partly indicated) which maybe worked by the rope 53 from the rope drum ,52. rlhe further, end ofthe rope 53 may pass over a 'pulley 54 and have suitable Vtensionweights Vhung therefrom. VThe ar-y rangement may indeed be somewhatsimilar to that described with reference to the parte 2o, 2i, ai, 35,se, 37,40, ai and a2 of rigs. 1 and Q. It will be seen that in thisdiagram (Fi 8) no means has been shown for driving the said lowering andlifting rope 3a. lt' will, however, easily be realized that drivingmeansV canreadily be provided, for example the arrangement might Abevery similar to that described. with reference to Figs. l and 2, or, ifpreferred.. the pulleyy 55 at the further shunt tation might be thedriving pulley.

lt is perhaps not absolutely necessary to llU llli

drive the lowering and lifting rope` El be'- tion, provided of coursethat suitable stone was available. Y j

l/Vhen ordinary cableways are used for the construction ot large dams,in order to obtain the desired capacity, it is necessary to install anumber of units usually running,` approximately parallel to the darintace which work in conjunction with `derrick cranes on the surface ofthedam. In some cases, the cableways are constructed with cross traversingterminal towers, so that it is possible to feed any point Vot' the damsurface at any period during construction.

lith a continuous cableway according` to this invention, it -wouldprobably be most` economical to build the towers at the coin"- mencementsutiiciently' high to complete the dam without adding to their height atperiods during the construction of the dam so that work, when oncecommenced, can be carried on uninterruptedly until completed.

It would also probably be preferable to construct the continuouscableway so that the trestles would be in a line with the iinished crestof the dam and build them into the dam.

lith regard to the power required, the following details are presentedas indicating' what the applicant believes to be suitable hp;- ures,but. they are not to be taken as limita-- tive in any way of the scopeof the invention. A360 ton per hour capacity continnous cableway 6000ft. long, as d-escribed herein, carrying net loads ot 6 tons'in onedirection only for the full length ot the 'dam and traversing at a speedof 100 yds. per

anni. would, it is believed, require` only 2'? to 30 B. H. P. to driveit, and such powc it is believed, would suice to overcome all trictionlosses and also the motor and gearingl losses when normallytransport-ing' concrete or medium sized plums.

The carrier rail rope `pulleys it is. assumed in the above would befitted with ball bearings. It would, however, be advisable to install alarger motor to overcome the effects ot buckets rising' to and receding'troni the trestles, in the event of the correct spacing of buckets notbeing` strictly adhered. to. A

B. H. P.. motor would give a hoisting' Vspeed of 100 yds. per min.

The above figures show a considerable savino` in power compared with theusual type ot cableway. According` to certain current practice, eachunitcableway oi 90 tons hourly capacity 2000 tt. long;` only otpreviously known type would require va motor ot 120 n T D nous cwiblewayi l is believed, prove more economical than a number ot ordinarycableway units capable s The at .intriges oit the concinuous increasesconsiderably when the length ot the dam enceeds 2000 it. especially sowhen the ot e'ivine a combined e-cpiefl hourlv capacity.v cabiewavmaterial can be loadedat an end terminal station above the dani. f

It will ot course be understood that the invention is not restricted tothe plant or the method oi' operation here'inbetor -3 described. Theplant has been described only in suiiicient detail to cnablethoseskilled in the art to arrange' the details. For example, any convenientstructural o r mecl'ianical de tails may be introduced to enable acable= way to work properly, such as the proper supporting` of cables,guying' ot standards, anchorages, tensioning ot cables vor ropes, etc.

Under certain conditions it might be possible to work the Gabler-.taywith very .little weight oi loa'dedbuckets moving from an elevatedloading' station and causing the rope 3 to move at. a suitable speedunder brake control. p

ltwill ot course be realized that certain` terms used in the oescriptionand claimsare not to be interpreted in a limitative sense.

For example when thel word'bucket7 is used it is intended to includeanykin'd of buckehskip-or cage, and may also include, it the convezn'will allow, any load'supported in slings or otherwise. rlhe wordcarriage may me i any carrier, trolley or wheeled traine traversablealong or on the standing` rope.

Having now' particularly described and ascertained lthe nature of mysaid invention and in what manner thesame is to be performed, l declarethat what claim is 1. A cableway system having` in combination, acontinuous rail, a transmission rope traveling contiguous to saidrail,'a load carrying` means, a carriage adapted to travel upon saidrail for supporting said load carrying means, means for transferring,`said load carrying means with its load from said rail to said rope andmeans for giving slack tov the rope for permitting the bucket to descendlrom said carriage.

2. A cableway system having in combination a standing cable, atransmission rope having' a predetermined amount of slack, a bucket, acarriage tor supporting said bucket trom said cable, manually operatedmeans for transferring` the weight ot said bucket trom said carriage tosaid rope and the slack ot' the latter allowing; the bucket to `ravitateto its unloading position.

8. Acableway system having in combina.- tion, standing,l cable, atransmission rope having; 'a predetermined amount ot slack, a pluralityot buckets, a carriage for supportcach bucket tr in manually operatedmeans for transferring the weight of said buclfiets equivalent and theirloads from said'carriaves to said rope and the slack of theY latterallowing),l the bucket having); its weight and load transsaid standingcable,V

ing ropes, acarriage, manually ope-rated loading position, and thus topermit of the raising of a bucket previously unloaded by taking up theslack in said rope in which the latter is supported, and means forcontrolling the gravitational action of the loaded bucket.Y

4. In combination with va pair uit support--v means for supporting saidcarriage ior travel on said ropes, a 4buctket and manually operatedmeans for solely supporting the bucket on one oit' the ropes to pick upthe slack in the same and 'thereby descend to unloading position. u V

5.` In combination, a* rail or standing cable, a transmission rope, acarriage supported from the rail, a bucket, adjustable `means forsupporting the bucket from the carriage or from said rope and means'orclamping the carriage to the rope.

6. A conveyor structure for a cableway comprising a Wheel supportedcarriage, a load supportingdevice, a hanger adapted to be connected tosaid load supporting device, and means for raising and lowering thehanger relative to said carriage, consisting or" a block and tacklemechanism directly connected to the hanger and supported by saidcarriage.

.7. In combination, a rail 0r standing Cable,

a transmission rope, a carriage supported on said cable `for travel,means for clamping the carriage to thetransmission rope to be movedthereby, a load Vsupporting structure including a hanger adjustablerelative to the carriage, and a block and tackle mechanism carried bythe carriage and engaging the hanger whereby the latter may be raisedand lowered into operative engagement With said rope.

8. in combination, a stationary cable, a transmission rope, acarriagesupported on said cable and including a pair of pulleys inoperative engagement with tlie said rope, a brake device ior one of saidpulleys, a load supporting device, a hanger carrying said loadsupporting device and movably asseciated With said carriage, a pulleycarried by said hanger, a block and tackle mechanism carried by 'thecarriage and connected to the hanger for raising and lowering the sameand thereby adapted to place said hanger pulley into engagement Withsaid rope to support the Weight oi said load supporting device solelyfrom said rope and means for clamping the carriage to said rope toreceive movement therefrom.

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature this 17th day of April,19525.

CHARLES FlSHER.

